Around The World: August 1

08/01/12

Written by: DHawes22

August 1

Trail Blazers: Why The Value Plan Makes 'Cents' For You
"The Value Pack starts at just $5 a game. That’s 12 games for as low as $60! Talk about some serious bang for your buck. But that’s not even the best part about this ticket plan. Four of the 12 games take place in the month of January. And there is absolutely no better place to be during an Oregon winter’s night than inside the raucous Rose Garden. Not to mention this pack gets you into the arena to see some of the league’s biggest names and brightest young stars such as Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Rudy Gay."

Trail Blazers: Big Games Plan: 12 Of The Biggest Games
"This game has it all. Season opener, at home, against the loathe-inducing Lakers, in Steve Nash's first game in purple and gold and it's on Halloween night! Any game against the Lakers at the Rose Garden is going to be a lively one, but the confluence of circumstances in this particular game sets the stage for one of the all-time season openers in Trail Blazers history."

Trail Blazers: 07.30.12 Trail Blazers Courtside Podcast
"Guests include Elliot Williams, Trail Blazers Guard, and Jason Quick, Oregonian Blazer Beat Writer."

Standard-Examiner: Lillard is the biggest summer splash since the bikini
"Yahoo!Sports recently quoted Blazers star big man LaMarcus Aldrige saying, “Who says we have to wait? Damian is good, Meyers is good, I’m getting better, we have Nic (Batum) and Wes (Matthews). Anything is possible. OKC showed that.”

NBADraft.Net: 2012 NBA Summer League: Top Rookies
"Lillard was our MVP of the week, and he shared the official award with Josh Selby. He was sensational in Vegas and it became apparent early in the week that the Blazer fans were quite pleased with their selection. Lillard showed poise beyond his years, running the pick and roll nicely in his 4 games. While his shooting numbers were good, there is still room for improvement and he has the capacity to become one of the better scoring point guards in the league. His third quarter against New Orleans was hands down the most impressive performance of this summer league. Down 17 at halftime, Lillard spearheaded a Portland comeback to take a 1 point lead after three and continued making plays in the 4th quarter to close out the game. He also had the best dunk of the SL posterizing Keith Benson. If they aren't already, the teams drafting 2-5 may all come to regret passing on Lillard."

Hoopsworld: NBA@2: Blazers’ Core Coming Together
“I think Meyers is going to get playing time. He’s still a little bit raw but there are things he does that big men need to do. He runs the floor. He protects the rim. He makes free throws. He’s got good hands. He can pass the basketball. You can’t teach 7’1″ and athleticism,” said Olshey. “He’s going to take a little bit of time but we’re going to be patient with him.”

Oregon Live: NBA High-5: Can Brandon Roy really play like the old Brandon Roy for the Timberwolves?
"Everyone, of course, mentions Roy's 18-point fourth quarter in Game 4 against Dallas in 2011. But that was an exception -- one magical return to form. Most of Roy's 2010-11 season was painful to watch as he labored to move and defend and was clearly not his old self. Certainly, there were games when he scored 20 or 25 points, but there were times when it seemed scoring was all he could do."

Timberwolves: Wolves Coach Bayno Ready To Coach Roy Again
“I worked him out the whole week, had no pain, was really explosive, reminded me a lot of the old B-Roy,” Bayno said. “And the ball just got rolling from there and the rest was history.”

SB Nation: Unpacking The Blazers' Brandon Roy Retirement Sham
"At some point after the lockout ended, the Blazers decided that Roy's contract was too big a burden on their cap sheet. They knew better than any other team the dangers of medical retirement, and knew they had no other natural candidates for the amnesty clause. I'm not willing to believe a rather successful NBA franchise was legitimately torn on whether to roll the dice on whether a 27-year-old passionate about basketball would return to the game."

Oregon Live via Sporting News: Tyson Chandler says under-23 U.S. men's Olympic basketball is 'ridiculous'
"Chandler can vouch for this personally. When he was chosen to play for the American team in the 2010 World Championship, he was coming off a down year for the Charlotte Bobcats. But, energized by a summer playing for a gold medal, Chandler came back with the best year of his career, helping the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA championship."

Rip City Project: Coming To Terms With Brandon Roy
"As Blazer fans we’re most upset about Brandon not being in Portland anymore because even though he did do a ton of amazing stuff, he never reached his full potential here. He needed another season without any serious injuries. He needed a healthy center that could score. He needed not to have to deal with Yao Ming’s greatest game as a professional in his first Playoff game ever."

Blazersedge via Trail Blazers PR Blazers GM Neil Olshey Says 2nd Round Coaching Interviews Complete
"We have completed the second round of interviews and will move onto the next phase of our process once we have given due consideration to all four finalists."

Blazersedge: Blazers At 2012 London Olympics: Nicolas Batum, Victor Claver & Joel Freeland Compete On Tuesday
"t's been a long time since I looked at a box score line and was as surprised as I was after reading Freeland's line. Watching him fairly carefully throughout this game, I marveled at how much energy he was still putting out by the game's end. He faced a very, very good trio of international big men in Tiago Splitter, Anderson Varejao and Nene Hilario -- all NBA players, of course -- and his shortcomings were not caused by a lack of effort. Even deep into the fourth quarter, after playing a vast majority of the game, he was showing hard on high screens, contesting 3-pointers, sprinting downcourt to establish early post position and chasing loose balls. There's a noble Pendergraphian influence that was evident in that breakneck play, regardless of the circumstances."

Ball Don't Lie: Important scouting report update: Anthony Davis is good at dunking lobs on Tunisian dudes (VIDEOS)
"On Tuesday, though, the No. 1 pick got some extended run, earning 14 minutes of burn as coach Mike Krzyzewski went to his reserves often during a 110-63 win over Tunisia. And in those 14 minutes, we learned at least this much about Davis: He is very good at dunking on Tunisian dudes."

Ball Don't Lie via ESPN: Jeff Van Gundy thinks that Chicago winning half of its games in 2012-13 is ‘a heck of a year’
"To lose Rose by itself is going to cost you -- even if you thought they were a 55-win team with Rose -- that costs you 12-15 games right there," Van Gundy said. "And then all the other guys I think people are overlooking. C.J. Watson even with his poor play to Asik in that sixth game, listen, he was a very valuable back-up through all of Rose's injuries last year. He played well, and now, who's their backup, they have Hinrich and who? (Marquis Teague) No, no, he's not ... did you watch him in summer league? "Struggled" is being kind. That's not a knock. The 29th pick in the draft is such a hit-and-miss selection anyway. You have to give him time to grow and mature. But to think he's going to come in and play behind Hinrich next year ..."

Ball Don't Lie via Sun-Sentinel: Erik Spoelstra doesn’t see the current Miami Heat partying as much as the Heat title-winners from 2006
"This year has been different than it was in 2006, when we won that title," Spoelstra said of what has been a six-week whirlwind since finishing off the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. "It seemed as if that celebration lasted all the way up 'til training camp."

The Basketball Jones: Video: A Tunisian dunk kind of impresses Kobe Bryant
"At this point, watching a split-screen feed of Team USA games where one half of the picture is basketball and the other half is Team USA reacting to various things that happen on the court might be more entertaining than the actual games. I mean between this and Kevin Durant’s dunking dance, I can see this programming doing some big ratings, which is really all that matters. Get Dick Ebersol on the phone. He needs to hear this genius idea."

The Basketball Jones: A Tunisian player played in Team USA socks and shoes
"Pretty much the best day ever for this guy, right? Not only did he get to honor one of his idols by having the exact same feet as him in the exact same game, he also got that idol’s autograph on that his shoe, which both of them are wearing. Yeah, it looked kind of strange, but I have to imagine Mohamed Hadidane doesn’t care about that at all."

The Basketball Jones: Why are Chris Paul’s hats so big?
"If you don’t believe me, just look at this important diagram that shows how much headroom he’s got underneath his cap. I superimposed a photo of Chris’ head on top of his real head, lining up the eyes and nose as closely as possible, and the results are staggering."

The Basketball Jones: Sixers CEO advertises announcer gig on Twitter
"Sounds like a great opportunity for all you smooth talkers out there. Except for former PA guy Tom Lamaine, who I’m guessing didn’t favorite this tweet. Everybody else with silky smooth pipes, however, go for it. Shoot this guy an email and you could be the next voice of the Sixers. Only 20,000 internet nerds saw the want ad, so I’m sure the competition will be minimal and filled with people who are totally normal."

DIME via Yahoo!: Report: Doc Rivers “Was Pissed At” Ray Allen’s Reasons For Leaving
“And not starting [games] bothered Ray. I did examine it, and the conclusion I came back to was this: By doing the right things, we may have lost Ray. If I hadn’t done that, I would’ve been a hypocrite. In the opening speech I make every year, I tell the team: ‘Every decision I make is going to be what’s good for the team, and it may not be what’s good for the individual.’”

DIME: The 25 Most Overpaid Players In The NBA
"Joe Johnson is, maybe, the fourth best NBA shooting guard (not in any order, but in the conversation: Eric Gordon, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, James Harden), or, if you consider him a small forward, the fourth best small forward (LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony. Not only did he earn max money in the summer of 2010, but the contract was even higher because of his NBA experience (the max number goes up with years experience in the NBA) and Bird Rights. So the Hawks locked him in for a ton of money, never seriously won anything, and eventually moved him to Brooklyn. But now the Nets are stuck in the same spot, paying too much money for playoff, but not championship, contention."

SLAM via Salt Lake Tribune: Lakers Reportedly Interested in Signing CJ Miles
“The 6-foot-6, 222-pound Miles could make a decision during the next 2-3 days. If he signs with the Lakers, the source said, it’ll likely be a one- or two-year deal via Los Angeles’ mini mid-level exception. Miles, 25, has already met with Dallas and Cleveland since free agency started July 1. He averaged 8.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists for Utah from 2005-12, playing in 389 games (159 starts). Miles’ best season was in 2010-11, when he set career highs in average points (12.8), rebounds (3.3) and minutes (25.2). His production slipped last year, though, when he shot just 38.1 percent from the floor and failed to land a consistent spot in the Jazz’s rotation."

ESPN: A Road Map for Dwight Howard
"So Howard doesn't have to sign a long-term contract extension with Orlando to pad his image. All he needs to do is be professional and treat the Magic organization with respect. He should call the team owner, Rich DeVos, and apologize for the confusion he's created, for any missteps he's made. Howard should tell him how hurt and embarrassed he was over the leak to Van Gundy, and that he thinks a clean break is probably best for both sides, especially since his Magic teammates are as sick of this mess as everyone else."

ESPN: Is The NBA Divorcing The Olympics?
"It's a crying shame that, through all that, basketball has no definitive international championship akin to soccer's World Cup. And it's a glaring opportunity that the NBA is well positioned to fix. "

ESPN: Warriors Re-Sign Brandon Rush
"He's thrilled," Bartelstein said. "He had a terrific season with the Warriors. He loves playing for Mark Jackson and he made it clear to me from the beginning of free agency that this is where he wanted to be."

Sports Illustrated: Basketball is still looking to take hold in soccer-crazed England
"Someday the sincerity of basketball's young fans will elevate the American game here, much as their peers have already done on behalf of soccer across the Atlantic. Perhaps the visit of this ancestral "Dream Team" will make a personal impact on the last of the non-basketball nations. "That's what our ultimate goal is in life, I guess, to inspire people and motivate them and teach them, and if it happens to be about basketball I'm all for it," said 23-year-old star Kevin Durant. "Hopefully we can make that type of impact on peoples' lives."

Sports Illustrated: How Olympic opponents will attempt to exploit Team USA’s small lineup
"It’s true that the U.S. has only three true big men, including one (Anthony Davis) who doesn’t play until garbage time. Kevin Love is an average defender on good days, though fairly solid in the post, leaving Tyson Chandler as the team’s only reliable big-man defender. Chandler has been prone to foul trouble, an issue for many previous U.S. power forwards and centers in international play. We tend to think of the size issue as one that would come up mostly in post play, such as Spain’s Pau Gasol shooting easy hooks over Carmelo Anthony as U.S. help defenders swipe at the ball, leaving Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez open somewhere around the arc. But the problem, to the degree it exists, pops up in other ways on defense."

Tags: Blazers, Timberwolves, BrandonRoy, LaMarcusAldridge, kevindurant, chrispaul, damianlillard, joelfreeland, meyersleonard, victorclaver, NicolasBatum, tysonchandler, anthonydavis

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Around The World: August 1

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